Seeing Murong Yu arrive, the tense atmosphere on the field came to a sudden halt.
The Ancient Sword Mountain Elder's gaze swept over Su Yi and the disheveled Zhuge Hong, finally resting on Su Yi's longsword, which still condensed a sharp sword intent.
Her red eyes were deep, and her tone held a consultative nuance as she spoke, “Young Manor Lord Su, could you give Murong some face and drop this matter?”
Hearing this, Su Yi raised an eyebrow slightly. He didn't lower his longsword, the cold gleam flickering from the tip still locked onto Zhuge Hong. “What do you think, Elder Murong?”
The meaning behind his words was self-evident—wasn't it a bit too late to ask for peace now?
Seeing Su Yi's gaze and catching sight of Zhuge Hong, who was pale and trembling all over, Murong Yu understood completely in her heart.
She was not an unreasonable person; she knew full well who had started today's incident.
She lowered her head slightly, letting out what seemed like a soft sigh. When she raised her head again, her tone held a hint of helpless resolve:
“Is that so? I understand. Then it can't be helped.”
The moment her words fell, a surge of majestic spiritual energy fluctuations, far surpassing everyone present, burst forth from her delicate body!
The pressure of a Late Golden Core expert descended upon the area like a physical mountain!
Qiu Ning, Ming Xi, and Gongsun Lin, being the closest, bore the brunt of it. Their faces turned pale instantly, and their breathing hitched.
A trace of dejection flashed in Qiu Ning's eyes. She and Murong Yu had once been rivals competing as peers, yet now the gap between them had grown so vast.
Ming Xi's golden eyes narrowed slightly as she calculated her chances of winning.
'How long can I hold this woman off? I wonder if Su Yi can wrap things up quickly.'
Equally feeling the pressure, Gongsun Lin gritted her teeth, the arcs of electricity around her suppressed into flickering uncertainty by the pressure.
And this sudden, powerful reinforcement instantly acted like a shot of adrenaline to Zhuge Hong, who had looked like a beaten dog moments ago. The fear on his face vanished, replaced by wild joy and intensified arrogance:
“Hahaha! Su Yi! Keep acting arrogant! Go on, keep acting arrogant! Want to teach this Young Master a lesson? You're a hundred years too early!”
Carried away with joy, he pointed at Su Yi, then glanced at the pale Qiu Ning, mocking, “If you want to blame something, blame your Divine Might Manor for lacking foundation and being unable to nurture stronger disciples! You can't even suppress a single Elder from my Ancient Sword Mountain, yet you dare run wild here?”
This sweeping insult was enormous, not only insulting Su Yi but also trampling the entire younger generation of Divine Might Manor beneath his feet.
“Zhuge Hong! Shut your mouth!” Murong Yue could no longer hold back. Frost covered her cold, elegant face as she scolded harshly, “Your skills are inferior and your defeat was already sealed, yet you stand here relying on others to show off your tongue! Do you have no shame left?!”
Her words voiced the thoughts of many Ancient Sword Mountain disciples present who still possessed a sense of shame.
Looking at Zhuge Hong's villainous, smug face, and then thinking about how their Young Master had suffered a total defeat in the chess game and was about to be humiliated in the sword duel, they felt deeply embarrassed.
Now, he even had to rely on a senior's pressure to regain face. One by one, they blushed red and lowered their heads.
Indeed, being unable to afford a loss and needing someone else to bail him out—if word got out, the younger generation of Ancient Sword Mountain would lose all face!
The last time Su Yi set up the sword stage, it was Senior Sister Murong Yu who quelled the storm. Was she going to be relied on again this time? Was there really no disciple in Ancient Sword Mountain worth mentioning besides Murong Yu?
It was clearly a scolding born out of anger at his failure to live up to expectations, yet in Zhuge Hong's ears—clouded as he was by jealousy and rage—it took on a completely different flavor.
He whirled his head around and glared viciously at Murong Yue, his eyes filled with malice. “Murong Yue! You sure are protecting Su Yi! Traitor!”
Then he turned to Murong Yu, speaking in a tone that bordered on a command, “Elder Murong, after you teach Su Yi a lesson, I suggest you properly discipline this reckless sister of yours as well!”
On stage, hearing Zhuge Hong's arrogant and ignorant words, Murong Yu's delicate brows knit almost imperceptibly, a clear flash of displeasure crossing her face.
However, she quickly restored her expressionless composure, though a trace of coldness seemed to linger beneath it. She spoke indifferently, her voice carrying clearly across the area: “Young Master Zhuge, I think you have misunderstood.”
“I never said I would teach Su Yi a lesson.”
“!!!”
Silence fell over the entire field.
“What?!” The wild laugh on Zhuge Hong's face froze instantly, his eyes widening like copper bells, hardly able to believe his ears.
When she said this, not only Zhuge Hong, but even Ming Xi, Qiu Ning, Gongsun Lin, and the others nervously watching below were stunned, followed by a huge sigh of relief.
As long as Murong Yu didn't personally attack Su Yi, the situation hadn't reached the absolute worst.
“Elder Murong! What is the meaning of this?!” Zhuge Hong roared in frantic anger, his voice turning shrill with shock and rage. “I am the Young Master of Ancient Sword Mountain! Are you going to stand by and watch me get severely injured by Su Yi?! Do you still care about the sect's rules?!”
Looking at his frantic, reckless behavior, Murong Yu's calm face remained entirely unruffled, as if watching a farce that had nothing to do with her.
Her tone was measured, yet every word was crystal clear, bearing an unquestionable authority: “Lacking skill and being defeated in a fair match only to be taught a lesson is nothing more than reasonable. The sect's rules protect reason, not those who make trouble without cause.”
She paused, her gaze sweeping over Zhuge Hong's face, which was distorted with anger and fear, and continued, “Furthermore, I did not come here to take sides, nor to interfere with the match's outcome. My purpose, from beginning to end, was solely to preserve your life, Young Master.”
“Nothing more.”
As she spoke, she raised her fair hand. Her spiritual energy erupted as she lightly brushed her hand against the void.
The Liangyi Chessboard floating in the air emitted a faint glow before rapidly shrinking and turning into a streak of light that disappeared into her sleeve.
With the chessboard retrieved, Su Yi's thirty percent spiritual energy boost and Zhuge Hong's fifty percent spiritual energy suppression both vanished instantaneously.
Their spiritual energy levels restored to what they were before the chess match began.
“My action in retrieving the chessboard has already broken the rules of this contest and exceeded my duties,” Murong Yu said coldly, looking at Zhuge Hong. “Young Master Zhuge, Murong has done everything within her power, fulfilling her promise to the Sect Master before his secluded cultivation to keep you alive.”
“You—you fulfilled jack shit! I—” Zhuge Hong listened in dumbfounded disbelief, followed by a burst of fury. Just as he was about to burst into profanity—
However, what answered him was no longer words, but a bone-chilling sword light that tore through the air!
Su Yi struck at the exact moment when Zhuge Hong was at his most emotional and his guard was completely down!
The condensed sword light was fast as lightning, precisely catching the flaw Zhuge Hong exposed in his fury, slashing forth with an invincible sharpness!
Before the sword light reached his body, Su Yi's calm voice, carrying a trace of mockery, clearly entered Zhuge Hong's ears:
“Young Master Zhuge, it seems that you, as the Young Master of Ancient Sword Mountain... aren't very popular with Elder Murong.”
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